Two Lone Souls
by CloudXMK
Summary: For as long as he remembered, Naruto had always been alone. Treated as an outcast by the people of his town and his own family, Naruto tolerated the hurtful remarks and hateful glares. But one day he had enough and so he ran. He didn't know where he was going but all he knew was that it led him to this scruffy tall man that was now looking down at him. (Human AU)
**This is just a weird idea that I had for quite sometime. There are some changes here and there but then again it is an AU crossover where Naruto and everyone else in the Naruto Universe are normal humans living in the same universe as the characters from Broadchurch. Please let me know what you guys think about this one-shot. If you guys are willing and think a multi-chapter story of this crossover could work, please let me know and I will consider writing a longer story concerning this crossover. Have a good day.**

 _*Thoughts*_

* * *

On a small hill overlooking over a small seaside town, a little boy of eight years old was sitting on a swing underneath his favorite tree watching a small birthday party going on in the backyard of one of the houses. He had pale features with bright blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. He looked like any ordinary boy except for the fact that he had three whisker-like birthmarks on both cheeks. His name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze.

He watched on sadly at the birthday going on without him. What made it even worse was that the birthday was for his own big sister who along with his parents had completely ignored him and forgotten him. It was as if he had never existed in their lives. He would have been glad to attend his older sister's birthday and celebrate it with her but he had been coldly shoved out of the house by his older sister's friends.

He had knocked and banged on the door, crying out to anyone to let him in only to be met with no response. Hurt, he left the doorstep and went to occupy himself which finally led him to his favorite tree.

He never really knew why his own family would ignore him and the other townspeople would either glare at him or spout such derogatory and hurtful words at him. The one word that they always called him and had stuck in his head was 'demon'. He didn't know how they had reached such a conclusion about him. He had read from the Bible and heard from the priest that demons were evil beings out to tempt you and take your soul. He had never done that so why would they call him such a thing. Even the other kids would never want to play with him and often called him terrible names.

He sighed and swung on his seat. His stomach growled loudly and that's when the hunger pangs hit him. _"I hope they have some cake left after this."_ He mused as he clutched his stomach. He swung on his seat, watching the birthday party until it was over. Only then did he finally leave his swing and trudged back to his home even if it didn't feel like home to him.

When he reached the doorstep, he put on a grin and knocked on the door. He had learnt to put on a front whenever he faced his parents and sister. If either of them noticed him being all sullen and quiet, they would think that he was being moody and thinking of rebelling against them. He had lost count how many times his sister would tattle on him to their parents or they had seen him themselves and was sent to his room without being given any food. He would always go to sleep hungry thus to avoid such punishments, he had learnt to put on a grin on his face even though inside, he was deeply hurt.

The door opened and there standing in front of him was his older sister Mika. "Where the hell were you stupid?" Naruto flinched at that but kept his grin. "I went to get you a gift but there was nothing that I could afford. I tried to come back home but the door was locked. I tried calling out for anyone to open the door but I guess the music was too loud so nobody heard me." He lied.

"You're an idiot. Why the hell would you go off to get such a last minute gift for me? That shows how little you care about me. You just went to get that so-called gift to get in my good graces right? RIGHT!?"

The grin melted off his face at that accusation. "No of course not Sis. I just wanted to get you a gift that's all." He told her. "Hmph. Whatever." She turned her back on him and walked away, not giving a second glance at him. Naruto sighed and entered the warm house. He closed the door and made his way to the kitchen hoping that he could grab a bite.

He had hoped to find the kitchen empty but instead he found his parents leaning against the dinner table glaring at him angrily. "Where have you been Naruto? You missed out on your own sister's birthday today so you better have a good explanation as to why you would do such a thing." His father, Minato Uzumaki-Namikaze, said.

"I-I w-went to get a gift for her Dad but I couldn't find one. When I came back to the house, the door was locked and I tried calling out to you and Mom but nobody heard me." He explained hoping that they would believe him.

"Excuses always excuses! Enough with the excuses Naruto! How could you do such a thing to your older sister!? It was embarrassing to her and to us. Do you have any idea how we looked to all those people!?" His mother, Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, screeched.

He flinched at the loud screeches of his mother. He knew it wasn't technically his fault but he had learned long ago to keep his mouth shut and not defend himself else the punishment they deliver on him would be much worse.

"This is the last straw Naruto. For one month, you will be staying in your room the entire time only to come out for school and using the bathroom, but you will spend the rest of your days in your room and eat in your room. Do you understand me Mister?" His father said. Even though his father spoke in such a quiet tone, he could the anger barely contained in it. He nodded shakily.

"Go to your room now Mister! And no food for you tonight!" His mother yelled at him angrily. He made his way out of the kitchen and headed for his room. When he opened the door to his room, what he saw next made him snap.

Mika was inside his room with a pair of scissors and a sharpie marker and was vandalizing it from top to bottom. His beloved books were now on the floor and torn apart. His bedsheets were in shreds and his walls had scribbles all over it and long rips on them. Even his desk and his closet filled with his clothes weren't spared. But what made him snap was his beloved fox doll, a doll that was given to him by his beloved teacher Iruka, in his sister's grip being torn apart.

He roared and knocked the scissors away, flinging it into the corner of his room and tried to pull his beloved doll away from his older sister's grip. They were now interlocked in a flurry of fists, scratches and screams until Naruto bit his sister hard on her arm enough to draw blood. She screamed and released her grip on the doll. Naruto quickly grabbed the doll away and clutched it close to him.

Tears welled up in his eyes when he looked down at his doll. It was now a mess. One of its eyes was gone and the other was barely hanging on by a thread literally. There were deep gashes everywhere on the fox's body and head and some of its tails were nearly cut in half. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO KURAMA!?" Naruto demanded angrily.

"IT'S FOR MISSING OUT ON MY BIRTHDAY YOU STUPID TWERP! YOU ARE SUCH A WASTE OF SPACE! I WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN! I HATE YOU!" Mika screamed at him. His eyes widened at that statement. It finally confirmed what he had long suspected but hoped it wasn't true. He fell onto his butt in shock and watched as his sister, still clutching her wounded arm, grinned triumphantly at the damage she had inflicted on her little brother. She ran out of the room to go tattle him on their parents so he could get an even worse punishment than he had.

He blinked and shook his head, his shock being overridden by fear. _"If Sis tells Mom and Dad, I'm dead! I need to get out of here now!"_ In a panic, he went to his closet and took out his schoolbag and dumped the contents out. He rummaged through his closet hoping to find any clothes that Mika hadn't shredded. He found a few clothes still intact and he quickly shoved them into his bag along with his fox doll. He could hear the loud thuds coming up the stairs now.

Heart pounding, he opened the window to his room and looked down. It was pretty high but desperate times call for desperate measures. He grabbed onto the long pipe fixed to the house and slid down the pipe, smarting his hands. He let out a small cry of pain and nearly lost his grip on the pipe but he managed to hold on and slide his way down to the ground.

Once his feet touched the ground, he released his hold on the pipe and shook his hands. He heard the loud yells coming from his room. Without looking back, he opened the sliding glass door leading to the kitchen and ran through the kitchen and the living room and out of the front door into the cold night.

* * *

He ran and ran without stopping even though his body screamed out at him to stop and rest. It was the fear of his parents catching up to him and inflicting terrible punishments on him that drove him on. He didn't know how long he had ran. All that he knew was that he was finally out of that godforsaken town and was now on a street that seemed to go on forever. There were no cars at all in sight so it was just him and his beloved doll alone in the cold night in the middle of a deserted street.

The run was finally taking a toll on his tired and hungry form and he started to slow down. _"I need to run! I can't let them catch me!"_ He thought frantically. But despite his drive to escape, his body's limits was finally catching up and he slowed down from a run to a walk and then finally to a stop. He sat on the cold pavement panting and sweat dripping down his pale face.

 _"How long have I run and how far? Where am I?"_ The little boy sat there confused and terrified but he took a small measure of comfort from the fact that he was now free from those terrible people. He rolled over to the side of the street, not wanting to get run over by a car if one does show up, and laid down on the soft grass. He took off his bag and took out his beloved doll, clutching it close to his chest as he curled up on the grass. His eyes slowly closed and he fell asleep immediately.

Naruto woke up to the bright morning sun shining down on him. He blearily opened his eyes and blinked. He sat up and looked around and to his amazement, he saw a town just a few miles from where he was. He had never been out of his own town so to see another town by the sea sparked his curiosity. His stomach growled loudly demanding food. _"I better find some food. Hopefully someone in that town will give me some."_ He got up and shoved the doll back into his bag. He put on his bag and made his way to the town.

It wasn't any different to his hometown except for the fact that there were less buildings here. There were also fewer people here too unlike back in his hometown. But the atmosphere in this town was just depressive. There was a sadness in the air and he didn't know why but you could clearly cut it with a knife. He saw people but they mostly kept to themselves gossiping away with their friends and colleagues. _"Something terrible must have happened here. I wonder what it is."_

Naruto kept on walking not noticing the few glances and stares directed at him. If he did, he didn't care. He had learned to ignore them back when he was still in his hometown. He then saw a hotel situated across the street. _"Trader's Inn. I wonder if they could spare me some food."_ His stomach growled once again making him clutch his stomach. Looking on both sides of the street and seeing no cars, he ran across the street and entered the inn.

Inside the inn, he saw a blonde-haired woman at the concierge desk with her back turned towards him watching the television situated across the room. He slowly walks up to the desk and sees a bell on the desk. He stands on his toes and rings it catching the woman's attention. She turns around and was about to greet her new customer only to see no one.

"Huh? Who rang the bell?" She muttered to herself.

"Um it was me Miss." The woman leaned over the desk and looked down and to her shock saw a little boy covered in dirt and grass with a backpack on his shoulders. "Hi." He greeted her.

Becca didn't know her day could get any stranger but it just did. Ever since that detective came along, things had been… rocky. She can only put it as that what with her affair with Mark Latimer now revealed to his wife and thus destroying her friendship with the Latimer family completely. But this really took the cake.

The boy looked like as if he crawled from some hole in a field. She didn't know if he was lost or a runaway. "What's your name boy? And where did you come from?" She asked. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I come from… I can't tell you Miss I'm sorry." He said.

"Why not?" She was curious as to why the boy wouldn't tell her where he had come from. "I-I can't tell you Miss. I'm sorry." Just then, the detective that was staying in her hotel appeared from the hallway. "What's going on here?" The scruffy detective asked. "Well, it seems we have a new guest." Becca said.

Alec's eyes widened in shock when he saw the little blonde-haired boy. He looked filthy. There was dirt smeared on his face, white shirt, and blue shorts along with grass in the boy's blonde hair and on his shirt. The boy also had bags under his eyes indicating a lack of sleep. He crossed the room and stood in front of the boy.

Naruto turned around and looked up to the tall man. He had brown messy hair, chocolate brown eyes and a thick scruffy beard. He also had a grumpy expression on his face. He couldn't help but compare the man to a bear. A big old mean bear. "What's your name lad?" The man asked in a thick Scottish accent.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." He replied. "Where did you come from Naruto? Are you lost?" Alec asked. The boy shook his head, "No. I'm not lost Mister. And I can't tell you that."

"Why not?" The boy looked down suddenly finding his toes much better to look at then at the tall man. "I just can't." Alec sighed. _"Oh boy. As if I don't have enough already on my plate."_

"If you won't tell me, I can't bring you back to your family. Don't you want to be reunited with them Naruto?" The boy's head sprang up, an angry expression now on his face. "NO! I don't want to be reunited with them!" He cried out.

"Why not Naruto?" Alec questioned. "T-T-They're… I can't tell you that Mister! I'm sorry!" Suddenly, Naruto's stomach growled loud enough for everyone to hear. Alec decided to drop his questioning on the boy's family and instead focused on the boy's condition. "Naruto, when did you last ate?" He asked the upset boy.

"Uhm… I haven't eaten since last night." He mumbled. Alec swore internally. _"This kid hasn't eaten since last night!? It's amazing that he can still stand and walk around. He doesn't look to be eight years old at most!"_ Alec took in a deep breath to calm himself. "Naruto, Becca here will give you some food for you to eat. I'll pay for it. You can also take a shower in my room too. Here's the key." Alec hands his room key over to the little boy. Naruto takes it, still a bit wary of the older man, after being put through a mini-interrogation by the detective.

He takes out some money from his wallet and puts them on the desk. "Here's the money Becca. Give the lad something to eat. Keep him inside the inn. I don't want him wandering off and getting lost. I need to find his family and bring him back to them." Becca nods and accepts the money. With that said, Alec then leaves to the police station to work on the murder case of Danny Latimer with the help of his partner Ellie Miller.

"Naruto, come with me. I'll get some food ready for you then you can go get yourself cleaned up in Mr. Hardy's room okay?" Naruto nods and follows after the inn owner.

Alec sighed tiredly. It seemed Lady Luck wasn't on his side again. Turns out everyone in the whole town had heard about the strange little boy that had wandered into Broadchurch. The police officers even Miller had asked him about the boy because someone had seen the boy enter the inn that he was staying in. He told them that all he knew is the boy's name other than that nothing. That shut their mouths up and stopped the questions for now. _"At least someone hasn't accused me of hurting Naruto but then again I wouldn't be surprised. Especially if it came out from Karen White's mouth."_ He thought frustratingly.

That woman had dogged him ever since the Sandbrook case and always tried to smear his name to the ground which wasn't helping the case now. She was putting up more obstacles than needed and the lack of cooperation from the townspeople also wasn't helping either. His heart skipped and he took another deep breath to calm himself. He wasn't going to drop dead now, not before the case is solved and Danny's murderer had been brought to justice.

He entered the lit inn and greeted Becca. "He's still in your room. The last time I went to check up on him, he was sleeping after I gave him some food. He's also already cleaned up."

"Thanks Becca. I'll go check on him. Goodnight." Becca bids him goodnight and watches him walk down the hallway to his room. The door opened when Alec turned the handle slowly. He gently pushed the door open and peeked inside. He saw Naruto, now in a light blue shirt and black shorts, still asleep on the bed with a fox doll clutched to his chest. _"Bloody hell, that doll is a mess."_ He quietly entered the room and gently closed the door behind him. He decided to let the boy sleep a bit more and take a shower first. He grabbed a shirt and a pair of sweatpants then entered the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

When he exited the bathroom now clad in a fresh clean shirt and sweatpants, he did not expect to see the boy sitting up on his bed wide awake and staring at him with the doll still clutched in his arms. "I didn't mean to wake you up Naruto." Alec said. "It's okay Mister. Um thank you for paying for my meal and letting me take a shower and sleep in your room." Naruto said. He was really thankful for the man's generosity despite his wariness towards the man.

"Your welcome lad." He pulls up a chair to the side of the bed and sits on it. "Now Naruto. I want you to tell me why you don't want to be reunited with your family? What happened that led you to Broadchurch, hungry, dirty and exhausted? You could have died." Naruto bit his lip and avoided looking into Alec's eyes.

"W-Will I be in trouble if I tell you Mister?" Naruto muttered out shakily. He was terrified that if he told the man, he would be punished just like he was back then in his so-called home. "No. You won't be in trouble Naruto." Alec said in a much more gentle tone.

That did it for Naruto. He told the detective everything. By the time he was finished, the poor boy was in tears. Alec felt a wave of white-hot rage course through him but he reined it in. He didn't want to terrify the boy even further. He got up from his seat and sat on the bed. He pulled the boy close to him and wrapped his arms around him, giving the boy a comforting hug. Naruto clutched onto the man's shirt, his fists tightening and nearly ripping the fabric, as he cried on the man's shirt. All the emotions that he had kept inside since he was little came bursting out like a dam.

He continued to cry for a few more minutes then slowly started to calm down. He wiped the last of his tears away and looked up at the detective. "I'm sorry I got your shirt wet." Naruto mumbled. "It's fine." Alec could care less about his shirt. What mattered the most was comforting the little boy. "Naruto, your parents will not get away with this. I will make sure that they will be punished for what they have done to you." He told the boy with fire and anger in his eyes.

"But what about my sister?" Naruto asked. "She will be punished for this too Naruto."

"But then I'll have no one except Kurama. I'll be alone." Tears pricked Naruto's eyes at the mere thought of him being all alone in such a big, cruel world. "Who's Kurama Naruto?" Alec asked.

Naruto held up the fox doll, "This is Kurama Mister." Alec felt his heart break seeing only a mere doll as the companion of this one lonely child. "You won't be alone Naruto." Alec said.

Naruto looks up wondering what the older man meant by that. In that one moment, Alec did something that he thought would never have to consider making,"If you want Naruto… I can take you in." Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "W-W-What did you say Mister?"

"I'll take you in Naruto and take care of you. Is that what you want?" Naruto nods his head feverishly and hugs the man. "THANK YOU SO MUCH MISTER!" He cried. Alec couldn't help but smile and tightens his hug around the little boy. "I'll keep you safe Naruto." He whispers comfortingly.

Throughout his early childhood, Naruto never got to experience the love of a mother and a father and even an older sibling. All he had known was cold hatred and ignorance so this was completely new to him. _"Is this what being loved is like? It feels… wonderful."_ His eyes slowly drooped close and the last thing he felt before he fell asleep was the love and warmth radiating from this scruffy man just for him.

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Alec and Naruto had bonded closer and were almost akin to father and son. Even though Alec was working on the current case, he took some time to work on Naruto's case. With a bit of investigating and digging up information and evidence, he managed to get Naruto's parents arrested and were now awaiting trial for their crimes. As for Mika, she was taken to a juvenile detention center.

Once that was done, Alec had signed Naruto's adoption papers and took the boy in. He didn't know what possessed him to actually go through on adopting the boy considering that his heart was now in such poor condition that he could drop dead at any moment now. He didn't want to traumatize Naruto anymore by his sudden leaving but he couldn't help it. _"I guess I've been lonely for too long. And the lad does remind me of Daisy. I'm such a selfish old bastard."_ Just thinking about his daughter brought pain to his already damaged heart.

Naruto, on the other hand, was the happiest boy on the planet. The detective had finally adopted him and he would never have to face his cruel family ever again. He had hugged the man tightly when Alec had given him the great news going so far as to call him 'Papa' which took the man completely by surprise.

He had been slightly terrified that the man would not like to be addressed in such a way but all that did was earn a smile from the older man. "You can call me Papa, Naruto if you like." He had told him. A wide grin split the little boy's face and he hugged the man again.

Naruto himself wasn't the only one benefiting from Alec. It turns out Alec was also benefiting from Naruto too. The little boy and his exuberant, boisterous personality never failed to put a smile on the detective's face and he seemed to act calmer than he was before, something that the other police officers and his partner Ellie and even the townspeople noticed.

Ellie had later found out about Naruto when the little boy followed Alec like a little puppy to the police station. "What's your name son?" She asked with a friendly smile on her face. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki Miss." He answered her with a big grin on his face.

"How did you know my boss here?" Ellie asked. "Papa took me in. I'm his son."

"WHAT!?" Her loud screech could be heard throughout the entire station making people wonder if there was a big argument going on between her and Alec as usual. The whole station would later be in an uproar once everyone heard about this.

However, things did lighten up on the other police officers including Ellie, all because of Naruto. His effect on Alec was just amazing. He wasn't his usual grumpy self and wasn't as rude as he had been before. Granted, he still acted horribly towards Oliver and Karen and for good reason. Naruto himself didn't like the female journalist that always seemed to hound his adoptive father down, accusing him of terrible things and trying to smear his name.

He had also hated the glares directed at his adoptive father. It reminded him of himself back when he was in his hometown alone. "Papa, before I came, were the people here mean towards you?" He asked one day in Alec's room.

"What do you mean by that Naruto?" Naruto shuffled a bit on the bed clutching his now repaired fox doll close to him. Ellie had gotten out her needle and threads and stitched the fox doll up. Now it looked as if it had never been ripped apart by his older sister. "Back in my hometown, people would glare at me and call me terrible names like 'demon' and I never really knew why. Did they… call you such terrible names and glare at you?" He mumbled.

Alec sighed. He took off his glasses and put it along with his notepad aside on the bedside table and beckoned Naruto to come closer. The boy did and snuggled up to his side. "They never called me names. But they did not like me. They didn't trust me you see. I was an outsider that came into their town and to them, I was destroying the joy and peace that Broadchurch once had by pursuing Danny's murderer."

"But you're just trying to catch that boy's murderer. Wouldn't they want that? WHY WOULD THEY TREAT YOU BADLY JUST FOR TRYING TO STOP A KILLER!?" Naruto yelled angrily. _"It's not fair. How could they treat Papa like this?"_ Alec wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders. "When people are scared, they tend to find something that they could put their fears on and in this case, it's me."

"Is that what happened to me Papa? Were the people in my town scared of me?" Naruto mumbled into the man's shirt. "I don't know Naruto. Maybe they were scared but of what I don't know. People are unknowable. And… you can never really know what goes on inside someone else's heart. Okay enough of this. Time for you to go to bed."

A sharp pain suddenly struck his chest. He clutched his shirt and gritted his teeth in pain. He could feel his heart skipping and thudding hard inside his ribcage. He could barely breathe as the pain in his chest grew. "Papa? PAPA!? ARE YOU OKAY PAPA!?" Naruto cried out as he stared at his adoptive father's pained face.

 _"SHIT! NOT NOW!"_ He grabbed for the bottle of pills that were on the bedside table and quickly unscrewed it. He took out two pills and shoved them into his mouth and swallowed. The medicine's effect was instantaneous. He could feel his heart slowing down to a much more normal rate. He took in a deep breath and gave Naruto a soft smile. "I'm fine Naruto. It's okay."

"Papa what just happened? Are you sick? If you are, you need to go to the hospital." Naruto said. He was worried sick and terrified of what had just happened. "Is Papa sick? But he didn't look sick until now. If he is, why didn't he go see a doctor?" Question after question whirled in Naruto's head, each one not lessening his worries.

"I'm fine Naruto. Time to go to bed now." He ruffled the boy's hair and pulled the covers away letting Naruto crawl underneath the covers and get himself comfortable. He then got himself situated on the bed and pulled the covers over them. He lets Naruto snuggle up to his side and watches the boy fall asleep. It would take him longer to join the boy into the land of bliss as he was still thinking about the attack he nearly had.

 _"That was too close. I can't die now not when I have a son to raise and a case to solve. After this case I'm definitely going to get that pacemaker surgery. Before I would have never have taken the surgery but… everything's changed now. I have someone who needs me now."_ He then drifted off to sleep, the decision still in the forefront of his mind.

* * *

He couldn't believe this was how it was going to end. Him lying on the cold concrete of the street clutching his chest as his heart gave up on him all because of that suspect they were chasing after. He was terrified but not just for himself but for the little boy that had wormed his way into his heart and had become like a son to him. "Naruto, I'm sorry. Please forgive this selfish old bastard for leaving you." He could see the darkness at the corner of his vision and he was about to let the darkness engulf him when he heard a familiar loud cry.

"PAPA!" His eyes widened in realization and he turned his head. He saw Naruto running up to him and Ellie only to be caught and held back by a police officer. "NO! PLEASE LET ME SEE MY PAPA! PAPA!" He cried out reaching his hand out to the man with tears streaming down his face. Alec stretched his arm out to the boy despite the effort he had to put in. His vision blurred and everything turned black.

He later woke up to find himself in the hospital hooked up to machines and IVs and a sleeping Naruto snuggled against him. "He had been crying for hours Alec. It wasn't pretty. The boy was terrified and confused. He thought he was going to lose you." Ellie told him. His lips tightened in a straight line and he felt tears prick his eyes when he saw the bags under Naruto's eyes. He streams a hand through the boy's golden locks and just watches him sleep.

"Please Miller don't tell my supervisor about this. We're so close to finding the killer. I'll take the surgery after we solve this case." He pleaded to the woman. "Are you just saying that or are you really going through with it Hardy? Tell me the truth."

"I AM going to take the surgery. I have someone to take care of now." He looks down at the little boy and for once in his life, he was thankful that he had survived the cardiac arrest. "I won't. But I suspect that your supervisor would have known about this by now." He nods and watches her leave. He would later check himself out despite his son's protests and the doctors' as well.

"I'll be fine Naruto. I promise. After we catch Danny's killer, I'll get surgery to treat this old heart of mine." Alec said. He was now bending down on the floor at about Naruto's height and looking at the teary eyed boy. "Are you sure?" He sniffed. Alec gently took Naruto's hand and brought it up to place it over his heart. "I promise." He said firmly. And Naruto believed him.

They would catch the killer but to everyone's sheer horror, it had been Ellie's husband, Joe. Well, everyone except Alec. He had harbored a few suspicions against Joe from the recent testimonies and evidence gathered and it was finally confirmed by the man's confession of murdering Danny Latimer. Ellie did not take it well nor did everyone else in the town. Beth along with everyone else had blamed her outright on not knowing about her husband's crime. Some had even circulated rumors that she was in it with her husband which just added more salt into the open wounds of the Miller family.

Naruto and his adoptive father did not like the blame game one bit. Naruto himself had walked up to the Latimers and yelled at them for being blind and blaming their friend for something that she had no idea about. Of course Chloe being a hormonal teenager argued back with the little boy, saying that he didn't know any better and wouldn't know pain if it hit him. This immediately sparked Naruto into a rage. He yelled at her that he clearly know what pain is and blurted out what he had gone through by his own family, the blame games and the torment he went through back in his town.

"SO DON'T TELL ME THAT I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PAIN BECAUSE I DO!" He screamed at them. The family stood there in complete shock with their mouths open and felt ashamed at their actions. Naruto then ran off to join Alec who was busy comforting Ellie.

The Latimers did eventually come to their senses and apologized to Ellie for their actions and Ellie did forgive them. Even though the killer was caught, the gaping wound was still open and it would take time and support between the two families for them to recover from this tragedy. Alec did go for the surgery and did survive. He was now recovering and his heart was now slightly stronger than it had been before.

Alec and Naruto decided to stay for a while in Broadchurch until his heart had recovered and once Joe's trial finishes up. For Alec, it gave him the chance to raise Naruto. He still tries to call his daughter and leaves voice messages when she didn't pick up his calls. He still hopes that she would pick up her phone and talk to him but for now he was content on raising the little ball of sunshine. Naruto had grown closer to Tom, Fred, Ellie and Chloe along with Chloe's parents. They were all practically his family now and he couldn't have asked for more. For once in his life, he was finally happy.


End file.
